Neville Longbottom and the Boy Who Lived

Chapter 9 - The Third Floor Corridor

As Neville lay crumpled at the north end of the Quidditch pitch, Madam Hooch and the Gryffindor students ran to his aid. The teacher quickly looked him over, and helped him to his feet. Despite his fall, the only damage appeared to be a broken wrist. Hooch put one arm around Neville and led him back towards the castle. As she left, she issued a warning to all the students that they stay on the ground until she got back.

Neville was crying. He wasn't sure if it was from the pain emanating from the wrist or from the shock of seeing the end of his arm hang at a severely obtuse angle. He dared not look anyone in the eye. The embarrassment of what had happened was too much.

Madam Hooch walked him into the hospital wing where he was greeted by Madam Pomfrey. "Back again, Mr. Longbottom?" she asked. "This makes three times in a week. Should I reserve a bed down here with your name on it, and have the house elves transfer your belongings? What happened?"

"I...I fell..." Neville stammered.

"Well, I can see that. Madam Hooch, how far did he fall?"

"About thirty feet, Poppy," the teacher answered. "I'm going to leave him in your hands. I have fifteen other students alone on the Quidditch pitch with brooms. I need to prevent them from following Longbottom in here."

As the flying instructor left, the nurse led Neville to an empty bed, and instructed Neville to lie down. She wrapped the wrist carefully with a bandage, and went to her cabinet of remedies. She silently mixed a potion, and brought it back to the young Gryffindor.

"All right, Mr. Longbottom. Drink this." Neville consumed the noxious liquid, and the pain vanished. Madam Pomfrey pulled on both ends of the bandage, and the wrist magically set itself back into place. Then she pulled out her wand, and muttered a binding spell on the bones which knitted them back together.

"Your wrist is fine now," the nurse pronounced. "However, the pain potion is going to make you groggy. Why don't you rest here for the remainder of the afternoon, and when you feel ready head on down to dinner?"

Neville nodded, and before he even realized it, he had fallen asleep.

*****

It was nearing dusk when Neville woke up from his afternoon nap. The hospital wing was deserted, and the only light in the room came from the dying embers of the sunset falling through the window. He tried his healed wrist and found it to be in working condition. Since Madam Pomfrey had told him he could go to dinner before he fell asleep, he straightened out the blankets he had been lying on, and headed out the door.

He had only walked about twenty feet from the infirmary when Peeves came zipping around the corner and stopped in front of him.

"Lookie, lookie," the poltergeist said. "It's a lookie Longbottom."

"Go away, Peeves," Neville said. He put on his best imitation of Percy.

"Ickle Firsties can't order Peeves around. Only prefects and professors can. Nope, no P in Longbottom. Hah!"

The poltergeist started to chase after Neville, who very quickly abandoned his imitation of a prefect and ran the other way.

"Longing, lonely, lovely Longbottom!" Peeves sang. "What does a Longbottom long for? A longer bottom?"

"Leave me alone," Neville cried.

"Leave alone a Longbottom? A little, a lot. I'll chase you 'till you rot!" Peeves increased his speed and passed through Neville to get in front of him. The boy almost collapsed from the chill created by the intersection of human and non-human flesh.

Neville changed direction, and found himself in front of a flight of stairs. He quickly started up, but when he had gone halfway, the staircase began to move. He held on for dear life. When the stairs locked into their new location, Neville ran from the staircase and through the door at the other side, Peeves following close at his heels.

Neville's heart almost stopped. In the room that Neville had just entered was yet another spirit. An officious-looking ghost stood before him covered in blood. Neville could only hope that the Baron would help him. The Gryffindor turned to him as the poltergeist burst through the door.

"Help me, please. Peeves won't leave me alone."

"Peeves, is this true?" asked the ghost.

Peeves entire demeanor had changed. "Er, your pardon, your Baron-ship, sir. Your forgiveness, please. But it is lovely, lonely, longing, lu-lu, Longbottom after all. I couldn't help myself."

"Peeves, if you continue to torture the young students, you will give the headmaster no recourse but to banish you. I know Albus is fond of you, but if enough complaints come in from parents, your days will be numbered. I hereby command that you leave young Mr. Longbottom here alone."

The poltergeist stared down the first-year student before blowing a raspberry at Neville. Then Peeves turned around and left, all the while muttering to himself, "Leave lonely Longbottom alone."

"As to you, young Gryffindor. I am not in the habit of helping your house. However, I also do not want to see Peeves banished. In exchange for helping you, you will not tell a soul about Peeves' indiscretion." The Baron's ghostly flesh darkened as he closed the distance between himself and Neville. He towered over the child as he brought himself to attention. "And now, Gryffindor, you will excuse me," the Bloody Baron spat as he exited the room in the other direction.

Neville stopped shaking long enough to squeak "Thank you, Baron," as the ghost left.

Neville walked back to the door and peered out. It only felt like a couple of minutes since the flight from Peeves had started. But now, as Neville looked at his surroundings, he knew he was horribly lost.

*****

It was over two hours later before Neville found his way back to Gryffindor tower. His wanderings took him through almost every pathway in the castle. Every time he thought he recognized a corridor, he couldn't find the passage that allowed access to the next area. He wandered the upper levels, coming across a strange plaque on the bottom of a trap door with the name 'Sybill Trelawney' on it. When he reached the Astronomy tower, he started looking for paths leading down. He was even more confused when he somehow passed the ground floor and proceeded into the dungeons.

When he finally reached the potions classroom, he found his bearings. Following the path Hermione had shown him, he was able to find the great hall, and eventually, Gryffindor tower. He walked up to the Fat Lady and said, "Caput Draconis."

The portrait looked at him. "No, young man. The password was changed yesterday. Try again."

Neville's jaw dropped. He had completely forgotten about the password change. "Can't you just let me in this once? I was in the hospital wing, and then I got lost when Peeves chased me around the castle. I haven't eaten. I'm tired, and all I want is to go to bed."

"As sorry as I may feel for you, I can't let you in without the password. I'm sorry."

Neville slumped against the wall and slid down to the floor. He thought this was the worst day in his life. As he sat there going over the day in his head, he could feel the tears start to fall down his cheeks. He fought the emotion, sniffling all the way. Thinking he was all alone, he was startled when he heard a small voice.

"Is the young master, all right?"

It was a house-elf. Neville knew that many pureblood families had house-elves in their service. Longbottom Manor hadn't been home to one since Gran became the matriarch of the family. She never trusted anyone when she couldn't understand their motivations. And a house-elf's motivation, while seemingly altruistic, was highly unusual.

"I'm not hurt or anything," he said, wiping the tears away. "I am hungry, though."

"Well, why doesn't the young master join his housemates?"

"I can't remember the new password. I missed dinner because I was in the hospital wing, and then Peeves got me lost."

"Rinkle understands. Rinkle thinks the teachers should do something about Peeves. If the young master is going to sleep here, should Rinkle get the young master a blanket?"

Neville was amazed at the little creature's generosity. "That would be wonderful, Rinkle."

"Rinkle will be right back." The house-elf was not gone for more then two minutes. When he returned, he had brought a thick down comforter and a pillow, as well as a sandwich and a cup of pumpkin juice. "Just leave the plate and cup with the blanket, and Rinkle will clean up when you are gone in the morning."

Neville devoured the sandwich and the juice. Eventually he settled down into the comforter and tried to sleep.

It was easier said then done, however. Hogwarts at night could be a creepy place. The portraits would talk to each other, and the Bloody Baron continued to patrol the halls. Twice the ghost had passed the entrance to the Gryffindor common room, hoping to catch students in the act of mischief. Neville hid under the blanket each time until the Baron had continued on. Eventually, fatigue won out, and Neville fell asleep.

*****

He didn't know how long he had been sleeping before he awoke to noises. "Now what...your problem...going to be...coming with...wait for Filch..." Filch! Was he here? Neville balled up in the blanket trying to make himself as small as possible. He could he hear someone approach and was startled to hear Ron Weasley ask, "Mrs. Norris?"

Neville was overjoyed. He was saved! He rolled out of his makeshift bed. "Thank goodness you found me! I've been out here for hours, I couldn't remember the new password to get in to bed." In an instant, he realized that they hadn't come looking for him. Instead, he had interrupted something.

"Keep your voice down, Neville. The password's 'Pig snout' but it won't help you now, the Fat Lady's gone off somewhere."

Harry changed the subject. "How's your arm?"

Neville held up his wrist. "Fine. Madam Pomfrey mended it in about a minute."

"Good," Harry interrupted. "Well look, Neville, we've got to be somewhere, we'll see you later -"

"Don't leave me!" Neville leapt to his feet to block Harry's path. "I don't want to stay here alone, the Bloody Baron's been past twice already." Three encounters with the ghost of Slytherin had been enough. If anything else were to happen tonight, it would happen with someone else around.

Ron was scowling at the thought of Neville's presence. Hermione seemed amused at Ron's displeasure. "If either of you get us caught," Ron growled, "I'll never rest until I've learned that Curse of the Bogies Quirrell told us about, and used it on you." Neville nodded and fell into step beside Hermione, and behind Ron and Harry.

Ron led the party silently and quickly to the third floor, and into the trophy room. True to his word, Neville hadn't made a sound. Ron and Harry seemed to be waiting for something to happen. Harry was looking at his wand, and appeared to be thinking very hard. After about ten minutes, Ron whispered, "He's late, maybe he's chickened out."

Neville looked at Hermione, who looked back and slowly shook her head. She was about to say something when a noise sounded down the hall. A noise that sounded very much like Caretaker Filch. "Sniff around, my sweet, they might be lurking in a corner."

Neville froze. He looked at each of his companions, and only Harry seemed unaffected by fear. Harry signaled, "This way!" and the four Gryffindors tiptoed towards the back of the trophy room and the second exit. Neville heard Filch open the door, and panicked. He let out a small noise, and sprinted past Hermione. He tripped over Ron's robe, and crashed into a suit of armor.

Harry yelled, "RUN!" and Ron and Neville jumped to their feet and followed. Once again Neville lost his bearing, concentrating only on the mop of red hair directly in front of him. He didn't dare look back to see if Filch was following, for fear of causing another accident. Finally, Harry stopped running just outside the Charms classroom, and Neville sat down trying to catch his breath. He barely heard Ron and Hermione begin to row, and wasn't ready when Harry started the party moving again.

But their troubles weren't over. As they passed the door to the classroom, Peeves came shooting out of a door further up the hall. Neville hid behind Ron, not wanting the poltergeist to start in on him again.

"Wandering around at midnight, Ickle Firsties? Tut, tut, tut. Naughty, naughty, you'll get caughty." Peeves started towards the group.

Harry had almost succeeded in convincing Peeves to let them pass. At least until Ron tried to take a swing at the poltergeist. When Ron swung, Neville was revealed, and Peeves knew he had found a way to get his revenge for earlier in the evening.

"STUDENTS OUT OF BED! STUDENTS OUT OF BED DOWN THE CHARMS CORRIDOR!"

The chase began anew. The four students tore down the hallway until they were forced to stop at a locked door at the end. Ron was convinced they were caught, until Hermione saved them by using a spell to unlock the door. The four pushed through the door, and Ron and Harry pressed their ears to the door to hear what was happening on the other side.

Neville, however, had turned around to look at the room. He was horrified when the room looked back.

Standing before Neville was the largest animal he had ever seen. And he couldn't even see all of it. Drawing his particular attention at the moment were the three heads, six eyes, and what seemed like more than a thousand teeth.

He reached back and grabbed a handful of robe from someone behind him, never letting his eyes leave the monster. The three-headed beast seemed to regard Neville as a curiosity. Neville could only remember the headmaster's words from the Sorting Feast. Painful death, went round and round in his mind. Neville tugged hard to get someone's attention. After Harry had slapped Neville's grip away three times, Harry finally turned on Neville. "What?"

As the remainder of the party turned to look at the beast, its expression began to change. One set of eyes was a curiosity. Four were an intrusion. The dog began to bark, and the four students fell over each other in the effort to get back on the other side of the door, and close it shut.

From that point Neville neither saw, nor heard anything. The four students ran back to Gryffindor tower. Neville had no clue how they got there, and before he realized it, he was sitting in an armchair, in front of the fire in the Gryffindor common room. If three other students weren't sitting in a similar position, Neville would have thought the whole thing was a dream. It was at least an hour before the feeling crept back into Neville's body and he was able to go to bed.

*****

He was standing in a room. He was frozen in place, and the only thing he could move was his eyes. He saw a bushy-haired girl lying on a bed, next to a sandy-headed boy. Both wore hospital gowns of scarlet and gold. The two children were screaming in fear. He looked to the left and saw four people in dark hooded robes start towards his parents. He tried to scream, but no sound came out. Without warning, the four people melded into one, and the robes changed from black to white. Then the screaming stopped.

The white robe slid forward and morphed into a poltergeist. The entity came nose to nose with him, blew a raspberry into his left eye and hovered directly overhead. Unable to wipe his face, he blinked his eye clear. It was only then he could see what was before him.

Coming into focus were three heads, each with a pair of yellow eyes the size of a Quaffle and a set of teeth that would have been right at home on a Hungarian Horntail. The look on each of the heads changed from bemused, to annoyed and then to angry. With frightening speed, they attacked at once. He could smell the dank breath as the beast closed in.

But the instant before the jaws closed around him, he woke up.

*****

Neville tossed himself from under his blanket. The encounter with the three-headed dog had worked its way into his nightmare, and he didn't know whether it was good or bad. On one hand he didn't feel the same sense of despair as when the woman cast her spell, but he was troubled by the fact that his mum and dad had been replaced with Hermione and Seamus. It was as if the dream was trying to make his fear both more personal and more urgent.

Thankful for the little bit of sleep he had grabbed in the hallway prior to his adventure with Ron and Harry, he rose from his bed. He threw on his dressing gown, picked up Trevor and silently made his way downstairs. He sat down in an armchair directly across from the fireplace and studied his toad.

Ever since he'd got the amphibian for his birthday it had tried to escape. But now the toad sat on Neville's knee, intently gazing at the boy. Instead of making a break for it, the pet was just there. It was as if Trevor knew that Neville needed company, and was willing to share in that silent moment.

Neville was content to look into those deep brown eyes. Here was something that didn't judge him or expect something from him. It didn't attack him or make fun of him. It didn't want him to fly or lead him into locked rooms with three-headed dogs.

"You're my friend, too, aren't you Trevor?"

Neville cleared his mind, and unexpectedly his granddad's words rang clear. Make a connection between your mind and your heart. Neville looked back at his toad as the connection was made. For just an instant, Neville thought he could see a ray of light form between himself and the amphibian. No, I didn't see it, he thought. I felt it. He concentrated on that feeling and found he could see through Trevor's eyes, and understand the amphibian's thoughts. Scared of what that could mean, he broke the connection.

The toad merely croaked, and jumped off of Neville's knee. The student watched his pet jump from the floor to a chair to a table and onto the window sill, where it sat, silently watching the grounds outside. It was soon dawn, and Neville went back to his dormitory to get ready for the coming day.

*****

As had become his custom, Neville was one of the first Gryffindors at breakfast. He walked down to the Great Hall with Percy, and after avoiding the Weasley twins and whatever prank they had prepared for their brother, he sat down and dished out his morning meal. Before he could tuck in, he stole a glance at the teacher's table. And by a stroke of luck, the teacher he wanted to talk to was there. Breakfast could wait a moment or two.

He approached the head table tentatively. "Professor Kettleburn? You teach Care of Magical Creatures, don't you?"

The elderly teacher looked over his tea cup. His eyes were friendly, but despite his age, the man looked strong and wiry. His hair was grey, and was very thin on top. He peered at the first year student. "Yes. May I help you?"

"My name is Neville Longbottom. I'm a first year Gryffindor."

"I was at the Sorting, young man. We thought you liked the hat so much you were going to keep it."

Neville blushed. "I was hoping you could answer a question for me."

"Certainly."

"Last night I was sitting in the common room looking at my toad. It seemed as if some sort of magical connection got made and for an instant I thought I could look through his eyes and read his mind. Is that possible, or was I imagining it?"

"Of course, that's entirely possible. It's one of the reasons we encourage students to bring cats and toads."

"What is?"

"Cats and toads are unique among creatures. Both animals tend to think along similar lines as wizards. That makes them ideal familiars."

"Familiars?"

The teacher sighed. "A familiar is similar to a pet in that it needs to be cared for by its owner. However, it is not a normal pet. You will find that when you concentrate on your toad, you will be able to ask it to do simple things for you, up to its capabilities, of course. You will gain from it sensory capabilities common to the creature, and it will gain from you an extended period of life. If indeed you and your toad have embarked upon this journey, then you both must care for each other."

Neville was stunned. He clearly couldn't grasp all of what the teacher had said. But he did understand that something special had happened in the wee hours of the morning. "Thank you, Professor. I think I understand. I'll make sure I take good care of him." It was the second time he had made the promise to take care of Trevor, but now it seemed far more crucial then just taking care of his pet.

When he returned to the Gryffindor table, he found Ron, Harry and Hermione seated next to his plate of food. Ron and Harry were eager to discuss the previous night's adventure in the third floor corridor. Neville had no desire to talk about a three-headed canine. He'd rather think about his toad.

*****

The two remaining weeks in September sped by. Neville began to fall back into the cycle from the summer. He would take his dreamless sleep potion on Sunday nights, and on Monday he was the most ready for class. By Friday the dreams would begin to catch up with him, and he would get less and less sleep. As the week went on, he would forget to jump one of the trick stairs, knock something over with his book bag as he walked by, or make his transfiguration object explode without meaning to. He was quickly gaining a reputation for accidents.

The final Sunday of September arrived, and just as he had worked out with Professor McGonagall, he flooed to St. Mungo's at two o'clock in the afternoon. He had picked a bouquet of flowers from the greenhouses with the permission of Professor Sprout, and put the fresh flowers in the vase on his mother's nightstand. His mum smiled, and gave him a candy wrapper in exchange. He slid the slip of paper in his pocket and told her he loved her. Then he turned to his dad.

The various treatments tried on the Longbottoms over the years had worked slightly better on Alice than Frank. The healers theorized that Frank had suffered more damage in the attack, but didn't know what would account for it. As Neville approached, Frank grunted.

"Hi, Dad. How are you, today?"

Frank grunted again. Something about Neville seemed to bother him today.

"I've only got a couple of minutes before I have to go back. I wanted to let you know how hard I'm working. I've made a couple of friends, and I'm even friendly with Harry Potter..."

Frank sat up so quickly, Neville jumped back against the wall. The father's eyes pierced his son's, as if he was boring a hole into the child's brain. Neville let out a cry of despair, but Frank never wavered. In a moment, the healers were at Frank's bedside and the intensity faded from Frank's eyes, replaced now by flowing tears.

"Neville and Harry," he croaked. "Harry and Neville." Frank Longbottom hadn't used his voice in almost ten years, except to scream at his own nightmares. The first words he had formed sent shock waves through the entire room. "Neville and Harry. Harry and Neville." He said those six words over and over while a floodgate opened from his eyes.

Tom the orderly was quickly at Neville's side. "You never cease to amaze me, Nev. The healers have been trying for years to get him to release any emotion besides fear. Why don't we leave him with the healers now, and let them do what they can to build on what you have started."

"All right, Tom." Neville started for the door, but then stopped and turned around. "Goodbye Dad," he whispered. "I'll see you next month."